How to Use Web Browser to explore your Computer as File Explorer

Usually, we use a web browser to surf the Internet and visit websites. However, its primary purpose is to access the World Wide Web. Most people believe that browsers are used only for browsing the Internet. If you have an Internet connection on your system, you may use your browser often; without it, you may find it useless. However, Today I’ll share a lesser-known feature of web browsers that you may not have tried yet.

Do you know that we can also use a web browser to explore your computer as a Windows file explorer? Yes, you read that right! You can use a web browser to explore your local drives, similar to browsing files on an FTP server.

You might now be wondering why you should check alternative methods when you can browse your computer files using the default Windows Explorer. Well, after reading the advantages below, you’ll see how this can be useful in certain situations.

Note: You can only view the files, and if you attempt to click on the file, the browser will prompt you to download the file.

Benefits of using a Web Browser as Windows Explorer

• Access Hidden Drive – You can view files from the hidden drive directly.
• View hidden folders and files – Hidden folders and Files can be viewed directly without changing view settings in Folder Options.
• Check for hidden viruses: Using the Web browser trick, you can directly check whether your drive has any viruses. Since the viruses are primarily hidden in drives, and in most cases, the option to change the hidden setting in your folder will also get corrupted due to viruses.
• Bypass restrictions  – In some offices or institutions where Windows Explorer is disabled, this trick still works to browse files.

Steps to use a Web Browser to explore files

For Windows –

Just type the “Drive letter” and colon “:” i.e if it’s C drive, then type in the address bar C: or type this file:///C:/

For Linux –

Just type this file:/// in the address bar to list all locations on your Linux.

Which Browser does it support?

This feature works on all major browsers.

• Internet Explorer – Opens Windows Explorer directly.
• Opera & Chrome – Show hidden and protected system files.
• Firefox – Does not display Windows protected system files.